~Roof Top Permaculture~ Transformation of the Inner City Environment Maibritt Pedersen 1999 / 2002~Contents~ ~Contents~. le 1 ~Introduetion~... = CHAPTER ONE What is Permaculture? os Permaculture in New Zealand 4 CHAPTER TWO. Roof Top Permaculture ee : 5 Benefits Universal of Roof Top Gardens 5 ‘The Example Site 8 Beginning the Permaculture Design. 10 CHAPTER THREE ~The Garden’s Focus~. “ “ Urban Food Production 21 “The Garden of Many Uses’ 2B Well Being in The Inner City Environment 26 “A Sanctuary Above the Sky Line’ 28 ‘Human Physical Health in the City Environment 31 “The Low Allergen Garden’ 32 Re-generation and Habitat. 34 “A Native Garden Above the City” 36 CHAPTER FOUR CHAPTER FIVE ~Maintenance~ ~Conelusion~. ~Picture Credits~. ~Bibliography~..~Introduction~ Many cities have a lot of ‘lost’ left over space; that is space which exists without consideration. It is the space between buildings, the roof tops, the median strips and the awkward street comers. These spaces in the city often become rubbish magnets or stray car parks. They are ugly, un-productive, un-loved and possibly dangerous. Itis these neglected areas of the city which this piece of writing examines. The objective is to establish ways in which these spaces can be rehabilitated to make a positive contribution to the city environment. The original intention was to investigate the whole range of types of Jost space, but it quickly became obvious that this was not feasible within the given time limits, It was therefore decided to focus for the mean time on just one type of lost space; the roof top. This analysis of the roof top as an area for the development of permaculture design, was chosen particularly as an investigation of how roof tops effectively become a building's fifth elevation. Roof tops often viewed from above in a city (Wellington in particular), with ‘multilevel buildings, but rarely given the same amount of consideration as the other four conventional elevations. Roof tops in some cases are out of mind but not out of sight, becoming an unsightly and unlovely yet very dominant part of the city experience. The notion explored here is that these areas could become a very positive asset to a city if they were covered in vegetation In carrying out this investigation it quickly became apparent that many different approaches to creating ‘garden’ roof tops were possible. Each building in the city could have it’s own unique garden place, which could only add to its special identity and become the delight of building users and the community at large. The report therefore does not seek to design a roof ‘garden but rather explain the range of possibilities which exist in this context. It is considered for reasons explained in this report, that one successful approach to the creation of such roof gardens would involve permaculture methods. ‘Permaculture’ is about ‘an attitude to the land and living, which seeks to work with nature and natural systems to achieve a balanced harmonious ecosystem, within which humans exist as part of a larger network of co-operating life. ‘The report explains in more detail what permaculture is, both from a theoretical and practical viewpoint. It continues by explaining what some of the benefits of roof top permaculture could be, and considers some of the technical issues involved. A site typical of an unused roof top area has been looked at in depth. A number of generic approaches have been established and suitable responses derived, but in all cases they are intended only as a useful starting point in the creation of unique and appropriate designs for particular locations, client needs and desires. Four very different scenarios are explored to indicate the range of different approaches possible for this situation, but an actual garden might in fact be a hybrid of these ideas or something with a totally different starting point altogether. These ideas are intended to stimulate interest and indicate a range of possibilities rather than to make any claim to be a comprehensive cataloguing of the possibilities inherent in any situation.